As the floats made their way down Grand Avenue, the theme of “Maspeth Supports Our Troops, Now and Forever “ could not have been made any clearer.

Residents lined Grand Avenue Sunday as the 2013 Maspeth Memorial Day Parade made its way through the neighborhood, ending with a ceremony at the Maspeth Memorial Park.

This year's slogan was “Maspeth Supports Our Troops, Now and Forever.” Grand marshals for 2013 were Maryanna Zero and Joseph Papavero, two Maspeth residents who are involved in the community through a number of different organizations.

The parade was sponsored by Maspeth Federal Savings Bank and the United Veterans and Fraternal Organization of Maspeth.

“On this Memorial Day we remember and honor the men and women that have made the supreme sacrifice of this great country,” said Kenneth Rudzewick, ceremonial coordinator, at the ceremony following the parade.

Rudzewick noted that while residents of Maspeth were eating their breakfast, somewhere a soldier was putting on a dusty pair of boots in the line of fire.

Angelo and Mary Grasso, residents of Maspeth for 65 years, have been coming to the parade for as a long as they can remember. Angelo is a World War II veteran who is also involved with the Knights of Columbus.

The couple said they love seeing everyone come out for the parade, and that it's one of the highlights of their year.

“This is where we catch up with everybody that we don’t see during the rest of the year,” added Anthony Konopka, a Maspeth resident who has been attending the parade for at least 50 years. “This is a little slice of what Maspeth always was.

“The parade just gets a little bit smaller because everyone just keeps getting older,” he joked.

Trudy Sulkoski, whose husband served in the military, said the young ones don’t realize the sacrifices that veterans made.

“This parade means everything because it brings back what all the guys did for us,” she said.